| Gustavo Villatoro | |
| Office: | Minister of Justice and Public Security |
| Term Start: | 26 March 2021 |
| President: | Nayib Bukele Claudia Rodríguez (acting) |
| Birth Name: | Héctor Gustavo Villatoro Funes |
| Occupation: | Politician |
Héctor Gustavo Villatoro Funes is a Salvadoran politician who currently serves as the Minister of Justice and Public Security. He was appointed by President Nayib Bukele in 2021. During Villatoro's term, he has overseen the Salvadoran gang crackdown which has since led to the arrests of over 74,000 alleged gang members as of 7 December 2023.[1]
Héctor Gustavo Villatoro Funes graduated from the José Matías Delgado University.[2]
From 2004 to 2009, Villatoro served as the general director of the General Directorate of Customs under President Antonio Saca.[3] He has also previously served as the chief prosecutor of the Organized Crime Unit. The El Faro digital newspaper has alleged that Villatoro was a political operator for Saca during his term as general director of customs from 2004 to 2009. Similarly, Revista Factum and the IBI Consultants think thank have alleged that Villatoro a political operator for Saca's brother Herbert from 2009 to 2014, paying out bribes to deputies of the Legislative Assembly in exchange for votes. Villatoro has denied these allegations.
In 2019, President Nayib Bukele appointed Villatoro as the general director of the General Directorate of Customs. In June 2020, Bukele appointed Villatoro as the head of the Financial System Superintendence (SSF). That year, Villatoro was a candidate to become the country's attorney general. He promised to reduce homicides and extortion, but Raúl Melara ultimately became the attorney general.[4] In December 2020, Villatoro ordered the country's banks to not sever ties with alleged financial criminals which were "founded in a decision of presumed culpability", an order which, according to lawyers, violated the Law Against Money Laundering and Other Assets.[5]
On 26 March 2021, Bukele appointed Villatoro as the country's Minister of Justice and Public Security, succeeding Rogelio Rivas. Villatoro's objective upon being appointed was "strengthening the investigative process for homicides and disappearances to reduce impunity rates". Bukele gave no reason why he replaced Rivas with Villatoro.
On 10 December 2023, Villatoro attended the inauguration of Javier Milei; Villatoro attended the inauguration in place of Bukele.[6] He also met with Argentine Minister of Security Patricia Bullrich the day prior.[7]
See also: Salvadoran gang crackdown.
On 27 March 2022, the Legislative Assembly declared a 30-day state of emergency after a spike in homicides the preceding weekend resulting in a nationwide gang crackdown.[8] In June 2022, after almost 42,000 people had been arrested during the gang crackdown, Villatoro stated that the government aimed to arrest up to 80,000 gang members.[9] Villatoro himself has presented proposals to extend the crackdown on multiple occasions.[10] [11] In January 2024, after the Salvadoran government announced that it had recorded 153 homicides in 2023 for a rate of 2.4 homicides per 100,000 people, Villatoro praised the gang crackdown, stating that it was a "courageous decision to confront the criminal structures" and claimed that El Salvador was the second safest country in the Americas after Canada.[12]
During his tenure as Minister of Justice and Public Security, Villatoro has been critical of journalists. In September 2021, Villatoro stated that the Salvadoran government was "following" ("Spanish; Castilian: dando seguimiento") various journalists.[13] In May 2022, Villatoro claimed that the La Prensa Gráfica and El Diario de Hoy newspaper were "[protecting] the interests of criminal structures" ("Spanish; Castilian: proteger intereses de las estructuras criminales") instead of publishing genuine news reporting. Villatoro further claimed that both newspaper were "on the side of the terrorists [criminal gangs] and their allies in the [political] opposition" ("Spanish; Castilian: del lado de los terroristas y sus aliados de la oposición". Human rights lawyer José Miguel Vivanco criticized Villatoro's remarks, stating that they were a "direct threat from Bukele's security chief against two of El Salvador's major newspaper" ("Spanish; Castilian: amenaza directa del jefe de seguridad de Bukele contra los dos principales periódicos de El Salvador").[14] Human Rights Watch similarly condemned Villatoro's remarks.[15] In August 2022, Villatoro referred to journalists and politicians who opposed the country's gang crackdown as "Pseudo-Salvadorans" ("Spanish; Castilian: Pseudo Salvadoreños"). In December 2022, Villatoro criticized international organizations by stating that "talking about torture is part of the same perversity that international organizations that have pretended that the country's gang problem is not resolved" ("Spanish; Castilian: hablar de torturas es parte de la misma perversidad de organismos internacionales que han pretendido que en el país no se resuelva el problema de las pandillas").[16]
Villatoro is a Roman Catholic.
On 23 August 2022, Villatoro received a formal recognition from the country's Attorney for the Defense of Human Rights for his security policies.[17]